Revelations
by bingblot
Summary: What does Dumbledore have to tell Harry, in Book 5? Please R/R!!


"Dumbledore lowered his hands and surveyed Harry through his half-moon glasses. "It is time," he said, "for me to tell you what I should have told you five years ago, Harry.  
"Please sit down. I am going to tell you everything."  - an excerpt from Book 5

-------------------------------

Disclaimer: Harry and Dumbledore do not belong to me; they are the property and creation of the brilliant JK Rowling, as is the short excerpt from Book 5 quoted above.   The idea of Harry being a Mage is from an excellent fanfic by Lori, on schnoogle.com called "Harry Potter and the Paradigm of Uncertainty" and is not mine either.   

A/N: Just my ideas on what Dumbledore is going to tell Harry, after the teaser of an excerpt that was revealed, with the publication date of OotP.   I have no clue if any of my guesses are even close to right.   I am not JK Rowling (although I wish I had half her talent) and just wrote this for fun.

Dumbledore cleared his throat, polished his glasses (that didn't look like they needed it), and paced his office for a moment, obviously searching for words.  It was the first time in Harry's memory that the Headmaster was so at a loss and the thought made Harry's stomach drop even further.   Whatever this was, it was not going to be good.  

"Harry," Dumbledore finally began, "have you never wondered just why Voldemort was so eager to find your parents?"

Harry flinched, going paler than he already was.   

Dumbledore continued speaking.   "It was because he knew who your father was.   Harry, your father, James Potter, was the last direct descendant of Godric Gryffindor.   You are therefore the Heir of Gryffindor, just as Riddle is the Heir of Slytherin.   Voldemort knew this and he also knew that this blood in you and your father made you possibly the biggest threats to his ambitions.   You see, descendants of the Founders of Hogwarts have a magic in them that is more powerful than the magic that normal wizards and witches have.   It is that magic, the power in that magic, that enabled Tom Riddle to become Lord Voldemort.   Sadly, the descendants of Rowena Ravenclaw and Helga Hufflepuff did not survive.   Voldemort managed to eliminate them soon after his rise to power.   That left your father, and you, as the remaining threats.   Your father knew this, as did your mother, and it was that knowledge that prompted them to go into hiding.   Your father would much rather have tried to participate in the war directly, confront Voldemort, since cowardice and hiding was as nonexistent in his character as it is in yours, Harry.   Then there was the prophecy.   It said that a second Darkness would come upon the world and that this Darkness would finally be defeated by the child of the Stag and the Flower, one who could wield the sword of the Warrior.   _You _are the child of the Stag and the Flower and you can wield the sword of the Warrior, as you proved in your 2nd year."

Dumbledore paused, giving Harry a moment to absorb this fact.   

In a moment, though, he started speaking again.   "Your parents knew of this prophecy, as I told them of it soon after they married.   I had  had my suspicions that they were the Stag and the Flower mentioned in it and they confirmed it.   They knew that because of this, you were likely to be Voldemort's first target.   They knew too that, in all likelihood, they would lose their lives trying to protect you from him, but they never hesitated for a moment.   I told you once, Harry, that it is our choices that determine who we are.   You parents chose to die, knowing you would somehow be safe and would somehow save the wizarding world.   They had no idea, of course, just how soon that would be."   

Another silence fell, as Harry struggled to keep the tears back.   His parents had known but they hadn't given up and they had still gone into hiding, to save _him_.   

Dumbledore cleared his throat and began to speak once more.   "And now, Harry, this is the last thing I should have told you before.   You are not a normal wizard, Harry.   You are what we, in the wizarding community, call a Mage.   Magical ability is genetic, you see, and these genes determine whether we will be born magical or Muggle, what subjects we will be good at, whether we'll be able to become Animagi, our level of skill in Magic and other things.   The Mage gene is recessive and so the likelihood of it meeting in two people who possess the Gene is very rare.   In fact, we don't know of anyone who has been a full Mage.   The Founders were half-Mages, Tom Riddle is a half-Mage, I myself am a half-Mage, as is Professor McGonagall.   Your parents, Harry, were both half-Mages, and you are the first full Mage in wizarding history, that we know of."

Harry felt the breath leave his body in a whoosh.  It was rather like getting hit in the stomach by a Bludger.   He was _what?_

Dumbledore was still speaking.  "Voldemort somehow must have known this when you were born.   And he knew that a full Mage would be able to defeat him, prophecy aside.   Tom Riddle was never one to put much faith in prophecies, but when you came, he, I would assume, believed the prophecy.   He thought, I'm sure, that he could take care of a baby Mage.   You know, of course, that he turned out to be wrong."

Harry was still in shock but this roused him a little.   "But you- my mother- you said my mother's sacrifice had saved my life that time."

Dumbledore looked grave.   "Your mother's sacrifice, great as it was, could not have saved your life entirely.   Many people who died also died to save others.   Your mother's sacrifice gave you extra protection, the protection that prevented Voldemort from touching you in your first year.   It was the combination of your mother's love and your genetic Magical ability that allowed you to escape the Killing curse with only a scar."

Harry felt drained.   "I see" was all he could manage to say.   

"I realize this is a huge shock, Harry.   I'm sorry I had to tell you all this at once.   But now you know.   You are a Mage and the Heir of Gryffindor, and the one destined to defeat Voldemort, the only one who _can_, in all honesty."


End file.
